Graduate School News

QS World University Rankings by Subject 2017 released.Korea University places the most subjects in the top 50 among the private universities in Korea.

Having a total of eight subjects in the top 50, the university shows the biggest year-on-year rise in rankings among the nation’s private schools.

According to the QS World University Ranking by Subject 2017 released on March 8 by Quacquarelli Symonds, the British rating agency of universities around the world, Korea University placed eight out of a total of 46 specific subjects in the top 50, resulting in the best performance among the private universities in Korea.

Compared to the last year’s survey, Korea University added six more subjects to its entries by subject. Just as in the previous year, the university stayed within the top 50 in the Social Policy & Administration and the Modern Languages subject rankings. It is notable that the university ranked in the top 50 in the Law subject ranking which was assessed for the first time by the rating agency.

▲ Year-on-year comparison of the number of subjects placed in the top 50 by the major universities in Korea

Out of the 46 subjects from the list, 40 of Korea University’s subjects were assessed. Aside from the eight subjects that the university ranked in the top 50, Korea University placed 24 specific subjects in the top 100. Korea University has seen a steady increase in its entries by subject, with eight in 2012, fifteen in 2013, seventeen in 2014, twenty in 2015, and twenty-three in 2016. If the scope was expanded to the top 200, the university would have had a total of 33 subjects in the top 200, with 17 subjects in the humanities and 16 in the natural science and engineering.

▲ Changes in the number of subjects that KU placed in the top 100

The QS World University Rankings by Subject is the one and only university ranking covering a wide range of 46 subjects. The list consists of five broad subject areas: Arts & Humanities, Engineering & Technology, Life Sciences & Medicine, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences. The evaluation is based on the number of citations per paper, the h-index, and the reputation of researchers and graduates.

In this year’s rankings, the university made two major achievements: placing the most subjects in the top 50 among the nation’s private schools and showing a continuous increase in the number of subjects ranked in the top 100. The university was successful in the rankings in part to the faculty, who worked passionately and cooperatively have created a synergy effect over the course of 111 years since the school’s foundation. This year’s success is not a short-term phenomenon, but will lead the university into a brighter future.